William Morris

illiam Morris has become a part of our lives. We decorate our rooms with his wallpapers and fabrics and we have grown to agree with his political views on the equality of women, the preservation of our national heritage and, very specially, the guarding of our open spaces. He truly was a "green" man, way ahead of his time.

Morris felt as deeply about the quality of design as he did about the quality of life and believed that the two were intrinsically entwined. In all of his work he constantly strove to use natural materials and to encourage people to make things for themselves; as an ardent socialist he wanted workers to experience a joy in labour and preached for free education and an eight hour day. He was horrified by the dehumanising industrialisation sweeping across the world.